Conventionally, image sensing apparatuses such as an electronic camera which records/reproduces a still image or moving image using a memory card having a solid-state memory device as a recording medium have already been commercially available, and communication apparatuses such as a portable telephone for communicating sound and images have also been commercially available.
A person who carries an image sensing system constituted by such an electronic camera and portable telephone can pursue outdoor operation with high mobility without being constrained to indoor operation at an office or home.
In the conventional image sensing system using an electronic camera and portable telephone, when the user senses an image with the electronic camera held by hands, he/she often puts the portable telephone in a bag or the like to avoid interference in image sensing.
For this reason, in, e.g., long-time image sensing for material collection using the electronic camera, the user rarely checks the battery level, radio wave intensity, and the like of the portable telephone. The user does not become aware of the low battery level, incommunicable zone, and other statuses unless he/she comes to make an actual call, and consequently, cannot call.
In this case, the user can know the status if the portable telephone generates warning sound.
However, a mute state must be set to prevent any interference in image sensing or to keep silence. In this case, the user can hardly be aware of the low battery level, incommunicable zone, and other statuses of the portable telephone.
In the conventional image sensing system using an electronic camera and portable telephone, the portable telephone which is a two-way communication device and often used as a passive device is relatively frequently operated on many occasions, while the electronic camera as an active device is relatively infrequently used on a few occasions.
For this reason, the statuses of the portable telephone, including the battery level, are relatively frequently checked, though the statuses of the electronic camera, including the battery level, are relatively rarely checked. The user does not become aware of the low battery level and other statuses of the electronic camera unless he/she comes to execute actual image sensing, so he/she cannot sense intended images or misses the chance of image sensing.